Search Engine Facts newsletter 17 July 2012

If your web pages are difficult to understand, you might not make as much money as you could with your website. A simple tool can help you to check the readability of your pages.
In the news: Google's Marissa Mayer becomes Yahoo's new CEO, Blekko releases a social news site, and Google might be preparing a Google marketplace to compete with Amazon.

Table of contents:

• Facts of the week
• Search engine news and articles of the week
• Recommended resources
• Previous articles

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1.       Cephalalgiawhat? How to get more sales without it.

2.      If your web pages are difficult to understand, you might not make as much money as you could with your website. A simple tool can help you to check the readability of your pages.

3.     

4.      Difficult language = fewer sales

5.      Many websites use technical language that is very difficult to understand for the average web surfer. Some webmasters also like long and complicated sentences.

6.      Long and complicated sentences are not a sign of professionalism. They just show that the author of the sentences doesn't care about the readers.

7.      The more complicated the text on your web pages, the more likely it is that a visitor will leave your website.

8.      How to check the readability of your web pages

9.      The Flesch Reading Ease test is a United States governmental standard to determine how easy a text is to read. It measures the approximate level of education necessary to understand the web page content.

10.  Higher scores indicate that the text is easier to read, and lower numbers mark harder-to-read texts.

A high Reading Easy Score means that a text is easy to understand. The Grade Level shows the number of years of education that are required to understand the text.

How to improve the readability of your pages

There are several things that you can to do improve the readability of your web pages:

·         Write short sentences.

·         Use many paragraphs.

·         Use headings to structure the content.

·         Use bullet lists.

·         Avoid complicated words. Don't say "cephalalgia" when you can also say "headache".

·         Use images on your pages.

Make it easy to understand your web pages, make it easy to navigate them and make it easy to buy on your website.